The acquisition of conditioned taste aversions: A microanalysis of drinking

The multiple components of a number of behaviors, appear differentially affected by taste aversions. The present experiment examined the effects of aversions on the multiple components of deprived drinking. Water-deprived rats were given 20-min access to saccharin and then injected with various doses of either lithium chloride, amphetamine, or alcohol. The number of licks on this and all subsequent exposures to saccharin were recorded. For all drugs, as aversions were acquired licking was suppressed more at the outset of the drinking period than near its end, a pattern of suppression different from that reported with other behaviors with multiple components. Components of deprived drinking may reflect a temporal sequencing of behavior. Drinking may be less stimulus-bound than other behaviors with multiple components. That the pattern of suppression was the same is discussed in relation to other reports demonstrating that these drugs induce aversions with different characteristics. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.).